


How our promise came to be

by d3athth3kid



Series: Story of our promise [1]
Category: Captain America (Comics), Captain America (Movies), Captain Marvel (Marvel Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, if we're both still single when we're 35 we'll get married, most things are canon but I changed a couple, prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:15:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23269810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/d3athth3kid/pseuds/d3athth3kid
Summary: People who actually get married on an "If we're both still single when we're 35 we'll get married" what's your story
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Steve Rogers
Series: Story of our promise [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1673260
Kudos: 1





	How our promise came to be

**Author's Note:**

> no betta. sorry for the mistakes.

Honestly I didn't think my life would go this way, but I think you need some insight, so lets turn back the clock.

Buck was the popular boy and I was his scrawny, nerdy, weird friend. I mean, If you looked at me, I was 5'2" weighing less then 85 pounds soaking wet, which is how we met, I had been in a, lets say disagreement on how dames were to be treated when Bucky first stumbled upon me (in an alley no less), at that time I was, 'bout 11 and he was 12, but he stood up for me, blood drippin' from my palms and lips, a nice layer of bruises rising across roughly 70% of my body, he didn't look down on me, an' he didn't dislike beatin' off the older boys, who had been given me one hell of a fight. After they had run cryin' he turned, offered a palm and gave his name James Buchanan, (but you can call me 'Bucky') Barnes. [I might have fallen a little bit in love with him in that moment, but I'll never admit it to him(or anyone else)].

Anyway, it was about 4 years later, we're on the sidewalk, chins restin' on our knees (my Ma had kicked us out, sighting exercise as her reason, but Buck an' I knew different, Ma had gotten pretty sick as of late) when a newspaper tumbled down the street, Buck picked it up, grin spreadin' across his handsome face and said "make me a promise, if we're both still single when we hit 35 we'll get married."

Now, my response SHOULD have been 'what the hell Buck', but I was in a bad way, knowin' Ma probably wouldn't last long, and wantin' to keep him as close as I could, so I said "long as 's legal, an we ain't gonna be beat, you got yourself a deal Buck". It was quite a scene, Buck the picture of 'best guy material' and his lowly friend 'death on legs' but I had somethin' to look forward to (even though my brain was convinced he was just tryin' to make me feel better), so I was gonna take it.

Mum passed the next winter an' I got real sick, but no matter what Buck was there, workin' at the dock, while I stayed in doors best I could an' drawin' up comic strips for the paper, (same one Bucky saw the article in) an' keepin' warm.

Fast forward, Buck had been 'The ladies man', no one could match him, he had that smokey timbre, slicked back auburn hair and seductive smirk, makin' it nearly impossible for any dame to blow him off, but if I got sick he would drop everythin' and make sure I wouldn' die in my or his sleep. Needless to say I had been a pretty constant size from childhood, and with all my illnesses I couldn' work in polluted air, but I could exercise. I started with push-ups, round or two take a puff from my inhaler then move into sit-ups, it was slow ('bout 3 years) but I gained muscle and by that time we had enough money to be properly fed so I started to grow again, Doc said I was jus' a late bloomer, but we were sure it was cause I hadn' gotten a proper diet while growin'.

It took a few months, but I grew six inches, hit 5' 8" gained some mass, weighing just shy of 170, all around a bit smaller than Buck. Tha's when the ladies started to see me, but I had no interest, with my persistent health issues, Doc said to much exertion (overly excited) and my heart could give, so sex was off the table, (I didn' mind much, seein' as no one looked twice at me till I was a behemoth) but Buck said dancin' wasn', so I let him set up double dates, made nice with the ladies, had a few drinks, stepped on some toes an' went home alone, (sometimes Buck would see me gettin' winded, swoop in and drag me home, other times he stayed out hours after I left, I always assumed he was 'enjoying' the company.)

It wasn' long after that, (just passed my 20th birthday) Bucky got drafted, I broke a little, made it my mission to watch his back, but I was too fragile, didn' matter my size, I still couldn' make the cut. One, two, five, fifteen tries and I was always sent packin' until a scruffy lookin' man approached me, said he could make my dream come true, said his name was Dr. Erskine and I was the perfect subject.

The next mornin' I saw Bucky off, him dressed up nice in his army reg. uniform, dashing as ever, he left with a parting hug and a wave. Soon as the train left I was climbin' into a fancy car with Doc an' a beautiful dame, they said I would be tested then everything would move pretty quick after that.

The tests were conducted by Army General Chester Phillips, an' he hated me from the first moment he heard of my medical history, all the way through my sacrificing my self on that dummy grenade, he was reluctant, but allowed Erskine to go through with "Project: Rebirth", honestly, it was the worst pain I had ever experienced, but I would do anythin' to watch Bucky's back, so it was well worth the agony.

When I stepped out, I didn' look much different, my clothes were tighter, my mass a little heavier but to the naked eye I didn't change much, but I knew, it didn' hurt to breath, an' tha's when the tests started. It went smooth, measurements, weight lifting, I could easily bench five times my weight, an' tha' right there is when everythin' went wrong, a bang then screams, I shot off like a horse, chased the man through town, scaling cars, he was fast but not fast enough, I caught him, asked some questions and the pretty dame 'Peggy' showed up just as the man started foaming at the mouth. It was horrible, not the first death I witnessed, not by far, but the first I had been involved in, as for Erskine I was all that was left of his research.

Now you all know about what happened next, I was a lab rat, treated like a dancin' monkey, given a fake persona "America's best hope! Captain America!" *insert Jazz hands*. I loathed it, hated I hadn' heard from Buck, that I wasn' watchin his back tha' he was alone. I was this beast of a man for months an' couldn' do anythin, but then, I hear the 107th is behind enemy lines, cut off from reinforcements an' dang nabbit I wasn' leavin' him out there!

It was similar to the history books, I parachuted in with the help of Peggy and Howard, made my way into the base, took some weapons to defend myself an' a few for the men I was rescuein' an' searched for my best friend. There were some hang ups, some men had issues with my authority, but they went well enough once I handed over the keys, asked some questions, then went in search of Buck. If you ask me it went well, found him strapped to a table, face black an' blue but alive. Once I got him up he paused a moment, blinked and looked me over, hands straying to my biceps and whispered my name in awe 'Steve?' a smile spread across my face as I embraced him, his chin comfortably resting on my shoulder, best moment since Ma passed.

It wasn' till we got the men back to base, got showered nice an' clean an' were left alone that I had the thought of how much smaller Buck was than me, not much, but to me an' him it was HUGE, 6" taller an' 50 pounds heavier than when he left, (4" taller an' at least 35 pounds heavier than him), man it was strange, him lookin' up at me.

He smiled, asked question after question until there was nothin' left to tell, an' I did the same, askin' 'bout how the war had been without me backin' him up. It was a couple hours, that we cherished as best we could.

The next day they said we were to form an elite group, call ourselves "The Howling Commandoes" an' that was 'bout the last time we were alone. I mean, we all had small breaths allowing us to daydream about Brooklyn an' our tiny apartment, thinkin' of Mum and wishin' the fight would be won soon, but no real quality time.

Over the next few years the team took out Hydra bases, celebrated the wins, sent soldiers home that were captured an' in need of help, it was the best way to honor my Ma, sticking up for the little guys, like I had done my whole life, but now, I could make a difference, an' the Commandoes were the best team I could ask for.

On the rare occasions when we were in base, Buck would try shackin' me up with Peggy an' any other dame on two legs, but my attention was solely on the fight, protecting my men and wining the war, an' when we went after the train, the one where Buck fell, I shattered inside, my family was gone, I had a couple friends, but none as cherished as him, an' when Red Skull took off months after, I knew I was the only one capable of takin him down, knew I was the only one with nothin' to loose, so I stopped him, took the chance to say my farewell and nose dived the plane.

**Author's Note:**

> might not be perfect to the time line


End file.
